Eye-opening "Circle of Light" exhibit at Gallery 234 through Sept. 1

From a UW press release:

The Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank's (RMLEB) exhibition "Circle of Light" can be seen through Thursday, Sept. 1, in Gallery 234, Room 004 of the University of Wyoming Union. The event is free and open to the public.

A reception for the exhibition is from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 1. An eye bank representative will discuss the RMLEB and the exhibition.

The photos, part of the eye bank's Circle of Light Photo Project, were taken by people from throughout the United States who received cornea or sclera (the white part of the eye) transplants from eye donors in Colorado or Wyoming. RMLEB asked recipients to pick up a camera and capture the things they were most grateful to be able to see through their restored vision.

"It is indescribable," said John Matejov, project participant from Story. "This is the best I've seen since my vision problems began in the 1980s. Life goes by so fast. You begin to appreciate things that you never knew existed."

The photos featured in the exhibit were selected by professional photographers Lucia De Giovanni and Natascha Seideneck from more than 150 submissions. The Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank facilitates the donation and transplantation of more than 1,500 corneas each year from donors in Colorado and Wyoming. Since 1982, RMLEB has facilitated more than 30,000 transplants.

Photo: "Jump" is among the photographs in "Circle of Light" on display through Thursday, Sept. 1, in Gallery 234 of the University of Wyoming Union. (RMLEB Photo)